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“All parts” of the Children’s Tribunal System have welcomed updates to the Children’s Law and look forward to implementing and monitoring the changes to “ensure the best outcomes for children and their families”.
The States strongly supported the updates, in a policy letter delivered by the Committee for Health & Social Care, in the Assembly last week.
In 2004, the States agreed to reform the family care and justice system to make it unique for the Bailiwick of Guernsey. In 2008, the Law was established which also introduced the Child, Youth and Community Tribunal, as well as the office of Children’s Convenor.
The Law created a distinction between the Tribunal which makes decisions that are temporary in nature and the court which considers emergency and permanent alternative care in the small number of cases where this is needed.
The goal of the 2022 reforms is to reduce delays within the justice system in order to improve outcomes for all involved parties over several years.
A spokesperson for the Tribunal System said whilst the current legislation “serves our community well” the update is required to ensure relevance, strengthen the laws, and increase “people’s awareness of the System as a whole”.
Pictured: It is hoped that the speed of family law matters will also be improved by the reforms.
It added that the role of the System was supported by deputies, reaffirming the Tribunal as a “holistic and informal space” which allows young people to actively make decisions about their welfare.
“HSC will be able to provide greater clarity on the specific changes but, for now, our focus will be on ensuring that the changes when implemented are monitored and that they meet the policy objectives of reducing delay and duplication, which has always and will always be a priority for us.
“We hope that these changes will include strengthening Social Services to ensure that any potential operational challenges do not impact negatively on the implementation of the changes, and that the governance review in phase two of the review ensures that the entirety of the child welfare system is working as effectively as possible.
Whilst the courts will gain some additional powers, these have been limited to certain exceptional cases with a greater emphasis placed on the Tribunal for most cases.
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